Research project

Expansive clay materials and concrete have been considered as potential candidates for closure structures in high-level radioactive waste repositories.  The mechanical behaviour of clay/concrete interface has been identified as a key parameter in the development of swelling pressure and the hydro-mechanical equilibrium state obtained after the saturation of the clay materials. Optimisation of the closure structures requires thus a better understanding at various scales of clay/concrete interface behaviour.

This project aims at investigating the mechanical behaviour of clay/concrete interface in the context of geological radioactive waste repositories. Advanced laboratory experiments (mechanical tests combined with X-ray microtomography and digital image correlation techniques) will be first used to observe shearing behaviour of clay/concrete interface at various scales. The experimental results will then be used to develop and validate numerical models to predict the behaviour of the closure structures by considering the mechanical behaviour of clay/concrete interface.

Candidates profile

Candidates should have strong background in geomechanics and be interested in both experimental and numerical approaches.

For administrative reasons, candidates must be EU citizens under 26 years of age on October 1^st, 2022.

Contact and application

The application (including CV and motivation letter) should be sent to Dr. Anh Minh TANG (anh-minh.tang@enpc.fr) before March 1^st, 2022.

A PhD position is open at Université Gustave Eiffel, Nantes Campus, France. The project will focus on centrifuge modelling of soft soil reinforced by rigid inclusions subjected to seismic loading. The PhD student will carry out experimental studies on the soil-rigid inclusion-superstructure interaction taking into account several highlighted factors. The experimental study will also provide essential data for numerical modeling.

Application deadline: Friday 22nd April, 2022, 23:59 PM

For more information of the PhD project and detailed application procedure, see the attached PDF file.

We attached on this pdf file a postdoc offer on an experimental project starting this spring 2022 at INRAE, Aix-en-Provence.

The work will be devoted to investigating the changes in mechanical behavior of granular materials after injecting fine grains in the pore space under the action of internal fluid flows. The project is founded by the Carnot Institute on Water and Environment and will be supervised by Nadia Benahmed and Antoine Wautier. The starting date is flexible but preferentially during spring 2022. To apply, please send your CV and a cover letter to antoine.wautier@inrae.fr and nadia.benahmed@inrae.fr

In the framework of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action COFUND, the Doctoral Programme UNIPhD offers the most talented Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) coming from all over the world a brand new International, Inter-sectoral, Inter-disciplinary and Innovative “training through research” programme https://www.unipd.it/en/uniphd.

Within this call, we are looking for a PhD student to collaborate with us on ” Multiphysics modelling of thermal cracks in multiphase heterogenous porous materials”. This research project aims to develop a numerical model able to study the nucleation and propagation of cracks induced by thermal effects in multiphase porous materials. The developed numerical model (UNIPD & ETH) and the experimental measurements (EPFL) will allow a step forward on the interpretation of the multiphysics nature of the fracture in multiphase porous materials.

More information on this pdf file (UNIPhD_Scheda_Research_Option_V2-SanaviaLorenzo(1).pdf), the web site (https://www.unipd.it/en/uniphd) and the supervisors.

Eligibility check: https://www.unipd.it/en/uniphd-who-can-applye-eligibility-check

How to apply: https://www.unipd.it/en/uniphd-apply-now

Call deadline: 8 March 2022, at 1 p.m. CET

Lorenzo Sanavia (UNIPD Padova), lorenzo.sanavia@unipd.it – Laura De Lorenzis (ETH Zurich), ldelorenzis@ethz.ch

We’re looking for a PhD student to collaborate with us on a project on “Optimization of particle transport in polydisperse dense granular flows: towards sustainable processes”.

The project will be supervised by Patrick Richard and Riccardo Artoni at the MAST/GPEM laboratory of the Gustave Eiffel University, campus of Nantes, and by Michele Larcher at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Bolzano in Italy, within the framework of the MSCA-COFUND Clear-Doc project.

The deadline for applications is March 21st, 2022. Applicants are invited to contact us before applying online.

Full details are available on the following webpage: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/716908

Riccardo Artoni, Patrick Richard, Michele Larcher

Monash Computational Geomechanics (MCG) Lab at Monash University is seeking an outstanding PhD candidate to develop a next generation of computational approach that combines our in-house SPH platform, advanced constitutive models and Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) to provide realistic simulations of block caving process at the field scale.

More information on this pdf file.

The Geotechnical Research Group at Chalmers University of Technology is looking for a highly motivated and talented individual to fill a PhD student position linked with a research project funded by Formas (Swedish research council). The project will focus on the development of calcined clays as supplementary cementitious material for ground improvement (mass stabilisation, deep mixing). The project is conceived as an experimental PhD in which the fundamental response at the material science scale and engineering scale will be probed. There is already a sister project in place that looks more closely into the creation of calcined clays and their role as SCM in concrete. Hence, in the advertised project we truly look into geomechanics, i.e. starting with the physico-chemical processes and linking those to the emerging mechanical response of the improved natural clay.

More information can be found on the following link:

https://www.chalmers.se/en/about-chalmers/Working-at-Chalmers/Vacancies/Pages/default.aspx?rmpage=job&rmjob=10179&rmlang=UK

Please reach out to Jelke Dijkstra (jelke.dijkstra@chalmers.se) if you have any questions about the project or the process.

The University of Glasgow is seeking an ambitious academic to join the Division of Infrastructure & Environment in the area of Geotechnical Engineering. We are particularly interested in those working on geotechnical challenges related to energy, the environment and the impact of climate change. This includes geotechnics of offshore and onshore renewables, ground source heating and thermo-active foundations, geological disposal of nuclear waste, sustainable and low-carbon construction techniques and the impact of climate change on geohazards and geotechnical infrastructure.

Please see link for full details: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/CMN137/lecturer-senior-lecturer-reader-in-geotechnical-engineering

The post is permanent and full-time.

Closing date for applications: 22 February 2022

Our lab, Multi-physics and Multi-scale Modelling Lab (M3 Lab), is now seeking highly motivated PhD students to conduct advanced research topics associated with geo-energy, geoenvironmental and geohazards in Westlake University (a brandnew high-level research institution in China).
The leader of M3 Lab, Dr. Sergio, has the expertise and in-house codes, in several areas of computational, physical and theoretical modelling of complex processes commonly found in Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering.

Research Topic

The PhD project will focus on creating advanced modelling techniques for the complex physics present in geoenvironmental problems. Excellent applicants coming from Mathematics, Physics, Civil or Mechanical Engineering, or related fields are welcome to apply. Experiences in computational methods such as Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics, Particle Finite Element Method, Material Point Method , Discrete Element Method, Lattice Boltzmann Method or other related methods are also highly desirable.